[Locke]

With a bluray release featuring 12 extra minutes of violence and character moments, I decided to make The Wolverine the first movie this year I'd watch again. Now let's see what a difference 12 extra minutes and a second home viewing make!

Although The Wolverine is quite low-key as far as superhero films go, the opening sequence is utterly spectacular if not utterly devoid of logic. The big difference with the way The Wolverine does its fights, is it plays it more like a martial arts film than a blockbuster. Less people getting thrown through walls, and more stylish, careful and beautiful choreography taking place in the smallest scale possible. Replacing the powers, for actual technique, is something that could only really work with a character like The Wolverine.

And that isn't to say there is nothing spectacular about Wolverine's action, the body count is high, the amount of people fighting at once is numerous and Logan takes the fight right through Japan, as he battles on top of a speeding bullet train, fighting yakuza, ninja, samurai, other mutants and mechs. May as well make use of your setting!

The only real criticism I have with the action, is with the portion of the movie where Logan gets his healing factor suppressed. It's an interesting novelty, but it's rendered purposeless in this film. Logan gets repeatedly shot, repeatedly beaten and just generally repeatedly hurt and just keeps coming. He seems so unaffected by the sheer of amount of damage he receives over this portion, minus specific scenes to show the damage, that he may as well have never lost his healing factor in the first place. And yes, I recognise he still has his adamantium skeleton protecting him, but he would have died from the sheer quantity of trauma, and if he survived that he would have died from the sheer amount of blood he loses.

Plus there is some uncomfortable, if probably not intended, racism. It seems every Japanese person Logan meets, whether it a prissy princess or a pretty boy on a rooftop, they all seem trained and skilled in some kind of deadly art. Plus, the evil genius behind it all, of course has to build himself a mech suit.

Still though, the action transcends pretty much all its problems in the characterisation of The Wolverine. Maybe it's forced, maybe it's clichéd but I don't care, Logan is a total fucking badass whether his healing is suppressed or not, this guy is pure win. And I love the way they play him like he's some mythical beast.

The Wolverine is a bit more of a grown up story. With most of the Marvel Cinematic universe involving a lot of brightly coloured heroes fighting over plot devices for unclear reasons, it's nice that The Wolverine is much more simple. Sure it has to soak up a lot more clichés along the way, but it actually makes The Wolverine feel more epic as it focuses on a complex tragedy about a powerful family, and how far people are willing to go for power and for life. This throws Logan head first into a fight that is way more complicated than it would initially seem. There is also a surprising amount of foreshadowing, which is clever and also totally obvious on the second viewing, it really makes the plot feel thought out, which is more than most superhero films can say.

One of the only complaints I have with this film is Jean Grey's cameo role. I understand that she is a key part of Logan's character, and this takes place after The Last Stand, but did we really need so many scenes of her stroking Jackman's hairy chest while wearing nightwear that she looks set imminent to fall out of? Yes Famke Janssen is hot, blah blah, but in an otherwise mature, adult superhero flick her inclusion feels unnecessary and gratuitous.

Well that, and Mariko. I know that Hollywood decreed that every film ever made should have a romantic subplot, but Mariko is a bad actress, and an even more boring character. The film grinds almost to a halt for her romance with Logan, a romance without humour or chemistry.

I much preferred Logan's dynamic with Yukio, once you manage to tune in to Rila Fukushima's broken, mumbled sounding English, she does strike some great balance with Hugh Jackman. Their dynamic, and friendship, as we see it grow over the course of the movie is one of the films highlights. Just a shame Yukio ends up vanishing for a decent chunk of the movie so they can focus on the lifeless romance between Logan and Mariko. Heaven forbid a Hollywood film only has one central male female dynamic that is platonic!

Another problem is the use of language. For the most part The Wolverine is a multi language film, two Japanese men don't speak to one another in English for the sake of the audience - sometimes the film won't even subtitle it, so you actually have to pay attention. For the most part. There are these random conversations where this is dropped, and for no reason at all, two Japanese characters will converse in English and it only stands out that much more because this isn't a consistent choice through the movie. It's just stupid.

Whether it comes from the wisdom of a repeat viewing, or those 12 extra minutes, I really enjoyed The Wolverine a second time. And if you perhaps couldn't get behind it the first time around because of how different it feels to its peers, I implore you to go out and unleash the extended edition!